And the kid got Cabrera to hit a weak grounder to shortstop Jason Bartlett, who turned a double play despite double-clutching with the ball. Cabrera was out by a couple steps and stopped briefly to put hands on hips.

Detroit suffered an 8-0 loss, wasting another fine outing by starter Max Scherzer, who allowed one earned run on four hits in seven innings before the bullpen let the game get away.

"We are fighting ourselves," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland, whose club is on a 6-22 freefall and has been shut out three times in the past three weeks. "We need to relax and win some games, but we are pressing too much.

"The guys need to relax. They are trying too hard."

TRACKING THE TIGERS

Tuesday's game: Tampa Bay Rays rookie Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven innings, allowing three singles, in an 8-0 shutout of Detroit. Max Scherzer allowed just one earned run through seven innings, but the Tigers' bullpen collapsed and walked in three runs in the ninth.

Record: 54-59

Shutouts mounting: The Tigers have been shut out three times in three weeks and nine times this season. Only Cleveland, with 10, has been blanked more in the American League.

"You've got to make some things happen," he said. "I want to do my job. I have to swing the bat better. We look like we've got a lot of pressing, though. We have to relax and make something happen."

Cabrera has not driven in a run since drilling a two-run double off the wall at Fenway Park against Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning Aug. 1. He is 4-for-26 (.154) without an RBI on this homestand, and nobody else has picked up the slack.

"He's in a little bit of a funk right now," Damon said. "Are they going to pitch to him or not? Should he be aggressive? Should he be patient? I've seen him hit that pitch (from Hellickson) a long way many a time."

Hellickson allowed two runs on three hits in seven innings in his debut against the hard-hitting Minnesota Twins. He limited Detroit to three singles in seven scoreless innings and got 18 consecutive outs after Austin Jackson led off the first inning with a single.

"The guy knows how to pitch," Damon said. "He's fearless. His fastball topped out at 92 (mph), but his other pitches are plusses."

The right-hander used a curve ball-changeup combination and fastball command to strike out seven and frustrate the Tigers. The 2006 eighth-round draft pick out of Des Moines, Iowa, is forcing his way into the game's best rotation.

Tampa Bay scored the game's first run in the fifth when Jason Bartlett's one-out double got Johnson to third base. He scored when left fielder Ryan Raburn briefly bobbled the ball for an error.

Johnson, playing in place of injured Carlos Pena at first base and batting seventh, got three of the four walks Scherzer issued and got another free pass to drive in a run in the ninth. He also scored in the seventh after leading off with a walk, moving up on grounders and scoring on a wild pitch.

Evan Longoria got an RBI double off Phil Coke in the eighth inning, and rookie reliever Robbie Weinhardt surrendered five runs in the ninth.

Weinhardt walked in a run after intentionally walking Matt Joyce, and what was left of the 26,114 at Comerica booed.

Enrique Gonzalez entered and proceeded to force home two more runs with walks. More boos followed, and it got ugly.

Cabrera has bailed the Tigers out of many losses this season, but now even his bat has gone quiet. Brandon Inge is in an 0-for-21 slide and Peralta is 4-for-34 on the homestand.

"I'd like to think that we are better than this," Damon said. "But we are not showing it."